"Librarian Chic"

Patricia Moore, from the New Mexico State Library, just sent out a message to all of us in Library Land. It said, "Today's NYT style section has a Q&A with a boutique owner whose best sellers include a blouse that retails for $1995.00 and is described as what the owner calls, '...librarian chic - sexy but with prim cap sleeves."
Naturally I went to the website and was very disappointed. There was no photograph of this blouse. I also wanted to see what kind of model they might have put it on. Did she weigh more than 100 pounds? Was she wearing glasses and were her eyes unfocused from being on the computer too long? Was her hair in a bun or was it dyed? I mean, was she even holding a book? If you are going to use the term 'librarian' to sell a blouse that no librarian in the country can afford, these are important questions. Exactly how are we being portrayed?
Just so you know, I don't think I have ever been 'librarian chic' in the entire time I have worked in the library. I dress for comfort. This particular blouse might require an expensive pair of heels, and there is no way I could possibly get through the day in heels. It might require an expensive skirt or fabulous pair of slacks, and I do not wear clothes that I can't afford to snag, tear, get newsprint smudges on, or wear to sweep the basement.
As for sexy. . .well. It will probably surprise some of you to learn that there are individuals out there who think the library is a great place to pick up women. Really. It is true that I have never had anyone try to pick me up, but just about every other female who has ever worked here, not matter what their size, age, or style, has had at least one person give it a try. I don't know what causes this. Is it the friendly line, "Can I help you?" Are books some sort of aphrodisiac? Whatever the cause, not one of them was wearing any kind of blouse that cost over $1,000.00.
As for this particular expensive blouse, I don't suppose I need to see a picture of it. Even if I could find an exact duplicate in K-Mart for $19.99, I wouldn't buy it. I don't like cap sleeves.

Book Sale Coming!

The Friends of the Library will be holding their annual book sale on Saturday, March 19, 2011. The sale will be held on the second floor of the library from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. This is a wonderful opportunity to stock up on used books at great prices. There is plenty of fiction and non-fiction, enough to satisfy all types of readers, including the youngest ones! Come to the sale and plan to carry away a sack of books to meet all your reading requirements!

"Art Techniques: Improving Your Art" Workshop

The Raton Plein Air Society of artists is hosting and conducting a new workshop at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library. This workshop is for adults, 18 years of age and up, and will meet in the library on the first and third Thursdays of each month, beginning in February and running through May.

The name of the workshop reflects the goal of those who will be conducting and participating in these ongoing workshops. The medium focused on in the workshops will be oil painting. Five aspects of oil painting will be addressed: drawing, self portraiture, still life, landscape and surreal/fantasy. Techniques and demonstrations given by different members of the Raton Plein Air Society will aid those attending to prepare for the next meeting. The work of attendees will be shown and discussed within the limits of each painting type and assignment addressed each month.

The members of the Raton Plein Air Society have each been involved in painting for decades. Various degrees in architecture, design and fine arts were the springboard that led Society members to a life long involvement in painting. They invite anyone interested in developing their artistic ability to attend the initial meeting on February 3, 2011, at 6:00 P.M. Mr. Sam Hughes will give a demonstration on drawing for the first workshop.

Refreshments will be served.

New Mexico Newsbank : Access newspapers and magazines online at home.

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library now provides a link on this blog through which library patrons with library cards can access three New Mexico newspapers and ten other national publications on their own computers at home. The New Mexico newspapers are:

Albuquerque Journal
Las Cruces Sun-Times
Roswell Record

National publications are:

Baby Talk
Family Life
Foreign Affairs
Newsweek
Parenting
Popular Science
State (web publication)
Stateline.org (web publication)
U.S. News and World Report
Washington Family Magazine

The text of these magazines is now available to you at home. Go to the arthurjohnsonmemoriallibrary.blogspot.com. On the right side of the screen, find the link that says "New Mexico Newspapers". Click on that link. It will take you to a sign up page which requires your personal library card number. (Those patrons who have 3 digit patron numbers must preface their number with a zero - 0.) Once you have entered that, you will find a screen on which you can take a short cut to the New Mexico publications or nation wide publications. Select one. Each of those search screens have places to put in key words and dates in order to search for specific articles or to read the publication.

This resource can be used at the library on the public access computers or on your personal computer at home. In either case, you must go to the library blog, arthurjohnsonmemoriallibrary.blogspot.com, to begin.

Since the Albuquerque Journal no longer delivers daily in our area but send the newspapers through the mail, it is no longer necessary to wait until the next day to read the most current issue of the Journal available.

Please try out the Newsbank and let is know what you think. This service has been made available to New Mexico libraries through the New Mexico State Library and paid for by this state agency.

Income Tax Forms (Free) and Printing Income Tax Froms Off The Internet (15 cents per page)

I don't know why income tax time seems to roll around so frequently. It usually seems like a year between each Christmas, but the distance between each April 15th seems to get shorter all the time. Part of the reason for me is that I start worrying in December about getting my personal forms in January and hoping that I get it all done before April 14th so I won't have to stay up all night in order to meet the deadline the next day.

When you work in the library and get shipments of forms sent for free handout by the IRS and the New Mexico Department of Taxation, taxes are also on your mind for quite a while. People ask for the forms before January 1st. In fact, people trickle in all year asking for last year's forms, forms from other states, forms from so many years ago that not even the IRS has them posted online. So taxes, like overdue books, seem to be an inescapable part of life at the library.

As far as the new tax forms go each year, I have never noticed a reliable 'received by' prediction from either entity. We are usually unable to tell patrons when the forms will be here. Sometimes they arrive (in part) before January 1st. More usually they arrive afterward in several batches that contain different forms. Sometimes New Mexico Income Tax forms are here first. Sometimes IRS forms are here first.

This year, no individuals are receiving paper forms and instruction books from the IRS in the mail. It seems that the IRS wants as many forms as possible to be submitted online. Or perhaps they are busy saving tax payer dollars by canceling all that printing. However it is, this has upset a number of people who have always used these forms. I don't blame them. Fortunately, the IRS is still sending forms to public libraries who filled out the request paper work for such forms much earlier in the year. We filled out that paper work.

In the last week I have received a notification from the IRS that we may receive forms by the end of January. That was followed immediately by an email that said a shipment had left their warehouse and might be to us by January 17th. Two days later I received an email saying that the UPS now had the order. Before any of these emails, we received Schedule M - "Making Work Pay Credit" - in bulk without any instructions, and 1040EZ forms without any booklets. In between the last two emails we received 1040EZ booklets and 1040A forms. I got another email today saying another shipment had left their warehouse, and UPS brought us a delivery of forms for Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled (no instructions), and perhaps six instruction booklets on Child Care and Dependent Care Expenses. Truly, the shipping methods of the IRS are mysterious. As for the shipping methods of the NM Department of Taxation and Revenue, they are currently non-existent since we have not yet received any forms or instruction booklets from them to hand out.

We will receive more forms and booklets. I hope they are all here soon. You can always call the library (445-9711) before making a special trip to pick up forms that may not be here yet. If you are in a hurry, we can help you print IRS forms and New Mexico tax forms off the Internet, as well as the booklets. Just be aware that it costs 15 cents a page to print at the library. That can get expensive when the forms and booklets provided to us by the IRS for the public are free - after they arrive.

Also, please pick up your forms in a timely fashion. Once the ones to hand out free are gone, we charge 15 cents a page to make copies of each form that we set aside for that purpose.

In the meantime, the IRS has declared that this year's filing deadline is April 18th, not April 15th. This is because there is a holiday specific to Washington D.C. only that celebrates the day President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves, and it falls on April 15th this year. So we all have three extra days to get our taxes done.

I wish that made me feel better than it does.

Welcome to 2011 at the Library!

It's a new year at the library and we would like to thank all our patrons and supporters for what we know will be their faithfulness during the coming twelve months. As usual, we will be available to schedule the meeting room for clubs and groups; we will be happy to schedule class tours (one for home schooled children is already on the calendar this month); we hope to start developing an e-book collection; and we just want to see all of you who come in to check out books, movies, audio books, video games, music Cd's and magazines. Don't forget that we have fifteen public access computers. Time is limited only when all computers are in use, and the very least amount of time you can use a computer is half an hour. (The longest amount of time is all day!

Our hours are:
Monday - 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Tuesday - 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Wednesday - 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Thursday - 10:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Friday - 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Saturday - 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Sunday - CLOSED

Internet computers begin going down one half hour before closing.

Patrons who wish to get a library card must provide a photo ID. (Parents must provide their own photo ID when co-signing forms for their children.)

Regular books, movies, and audio books go out for three weeks for residents, six weeks for those patrons designated 'county'.

New fiction, music Cd's, magazines, and video games go out for one week.

Preschool Story Hour occurs every Wednesday morning at 10:00 A.M.

Summer Story Hour is for children from birth through 5th grade and occurs every Wednesday during the summer for 6-8 weeks. (Beginning date will be selected later for 2011.)

The Friends of the Library sell donated used books. They are always interested in finding new members. Call the library (445-9711) for contact information.

To all of you who use the library, we appreciate you! For those who have yet to discover us, we hope you come by soon.

Happy New Year!

Reading is good for stress!

'Tis the season. . .to be stressed. I love Christmas. But the week before is intensely stressful. I am one of those people who get packages in the mail just in time to get there, am wrapping gifts for stockings at midnight on Christmas Eve (unless I focus on doing it bits at a time for two weeks, which requires thought and personal reminders and, oh, yes, stress because I haven't done it yet), holds the family dinner and wants everything to look as perfect as possible, even though the tidy results of all that cleaning last for about thirty seconds after everyone walks in the door.

I saw the title of an article today on the cover of December/January 2011 issue of Natural Health magazine. It was "Instant Calm - A simple cure for days that feel crazed". I focused on that for a moment before I snorted. We can all eliminate stress instantly. It's simple. That's why so many people suffer from so much stress, right?

All the things I have read about dealing with stress require us to do something. Meditate. Eat right. Eliminate caffeine. Exercise. Sleep more. Sleep less. Make a list and don't lose it. Prioritize. Eliminating stress requires those who are already trying to keep up to do something else to eliminate the consequences of what you are doing. Does this seem counterproductive to anybody except me?

Well, I read the article. You never know. It might actually have one teeny suggestion I could implement without making a special trip for new vitamins, changing my bedtime or giving up coffee and chocolate, especially in the middle of the holiday season. As usual, it suggested vitamins that aid in calming, exercising, being in the sun 20 minutes a day without sunscreen or sunglasses, prioritizing, giving up caffeine, and meditation.

But wait. Under 'cultivate active rest', reading was listed as a form of meditation that gives focused attention to the moment! Finally, something that I do every day. Reading relieves stress and I don't have to feel guilty about it. I can remind myself, and anyone else who questions this expenditure of my time, that too much stress causes long term health problems and reading can help that.

So pick up a good book this holiday season - one you actually want to read - and enjoy yourself. The library will be happy to help you reduce stress.

They are tough on overdues in Texas!

A 25 year old woman in Bayton, Texas, was taken to court after she did not return overdue library books for seven years. She didn't show up in court and was jailed on contempt of court charges, in addition to the charges for the overdue books. This was on the day before Thanksgiving. Her reason for not returning the books was that they were burned in a fire, which she said her landlord and the fire department could verify. But she never told the library and she did not show up for court.
A detective in the Bayton Police Department said this case is uncommon, but he also added, "It's a part of the deal, part of the agreement that you enter. It's just like anything else. . .you can't take something that doesn't belong to you and just hold onto it."
This is a rather extreme reaction to overdue books, although if you bring up the subject with almost any librarian, they will probably start grinding their teeth before unclamping their jaws and responding in a reasonably civil manner. Library books and materials are returned late everywhere. Usually it's just a matter of forgetting about it, receiving a notice from the library or finding the things yourself, returning the materials and paying a fine. Librarians understand that. When you are busy and the kids are in sports and the dog is at the vet's and your husband has the flu, library books are about the last thing on your mind. But at some point, most people with overdue books return them which makes everyone happy. There is no reason for a librarian to grind their teeth over the run-of-the-mill overdue book.
It's the patrons who have them out for years that cause the angst. It's when someone comes in and says, "What do you mean we owe $112.00 in fines? We couldn't return them, we moved to California! But we're back now. Are you SURE we can't check out?" It's when the library sends overdue notices and gets them back because the person has vanished. It's when a brand new book or DVD or video game gets checked out and apparently the patron thinks it now belongs to them forever. "Cool! The public library is free!"
Yes, you can check the materials out for free. But you can't keep them. They are paid for by the funding entity (city, county, school system) and legally belong to them. Besides, if you check something out and don't bring it back, you can't check anything else out. Think of what you might be missing! And think of what other patrons are missing because you didn't return it.
We appreciate our patrons. The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library is used by a large part of our community and you should know that we are not going to go as far as the library in Bayton, Texas, when books are overdue. (No need to change your name or leave town.) Just keep turning in those things you have checked out so we can keep checking out new things to you. It's what we are here for, what we like to do, what we hope you enjoy, over and over and over.

Public Libraries Administered by Private Companies

There is a new trend in this day of cost cutting. (Actually, it's not brand new, but it does have to do with cutting costs.) Public libraries owned by cities and municipalities and formerly funded and operated by the same, are being turned over to private companies to operate. It's all about the bottom line. Theoretically this saves the city or municipality money. This is actually true. The private company looks upon the library as a money pit. This means fewer employees are hired, hours open to the public are cut, book budgets are slashed and the bottom line is a lot lower.

Unfortunately, this does not add up to real public service. A patron told me a story the other day about the library in his daughter's Texas town. It is going to be turned over to a private company to operate. Not only would the hours be cut and the people doing the work be more like clerks than librarians, the actual library administrative work and decision making would be done from the company's office in the east. That meant there would be no librarian on the premises to make purchasing decisions, be familiar with the needs of the public using the library, be acquainted with a single person who entered the building, have any idea if the lighting was adequate, if the books should be shifted, if another book shelf could be fit in to hold more in certain sections, if things like reference books were properly updated or even if the floor was vacuumed and the doors were unlocked on time to let people in.

The patron's daughter had seen what happened to a library in another town close by when it was turned over to a private company. No new materials (books, DVDs, Cd's, etc.) had been purchased for two years. Yes, it was a money saving deal.

Public libraries have traditionally been supported by public money. Yes, they have their business aspects. Bills have to be paid, physical plants (the actual building) have to be kept up, contracts signed, equipment purchased, building codes and federal requirements, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, have to be met. Patrons are a lot like customers, and librarians have to use the funds at their disposal to serve the largest patron base possible. But there is a lot more to libraries than the business side. There is real public service where trained people familiar with the collection and with computer usage do their best to help others. They may be paid with public funds, but that is appropriate, since they are providing a free public service. If you live in a small town, it is comforting to know who you are going to be dealing with when you go to the library. The librarian does not live in another state. You can actually talk to him/her face to face.

As for the patron's daughter, she has taken her children to the next town and gotten library cards at that public library - because that is what it still is, a real library that serves real people.

Raton Science Cafe : "Giant Waves and Rogue Waves"

The Raton Science Cafe will meet at the library Thursday, December 9, 2010, at 7:00 P.M. The topic will be Giant Waves and Rogue Waves. A collection of the best 90 slides from five different sources will be shown. Giant waves can be surf waves, tsunami waves, and rogue waves. Their power is illustrated by many photographs of damageed ships and oil rigs; and in a few instances - the actual rogue waves. A handout shows 21 of the favored locations of rogue waves. Viewers may also have a CD-ROM copy of the presentation. If you are interested in reading up on the subject beforehand, the library holds a copy of "The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean", a best-selling non-fiction book by author Susan Casey. The presentation will be followed with food and drink refreshments.